LCC working to improve road safety in London

We are all deeply saddened by the tragic death of Vicki McCreery on Blackfriars Bridge May 10th 2004. Our sympathies go out to her family and friends.

The London Cycling Campaign was in contact with Transport for London immediately after the incident setting out a number concerns about speed and safety on Blackfriars Bridge. We will be meeting TfL in early June 2004 and will seek to participate in TfL’s reviews of safety on Blackfriars and other river crossings. We will re-emphasise the importance of taking the needs of pedestrians and cyclists into consideration at the outset of road planning and design.

We will also raise the issue of speed. LCC has repeatedly drawn attention to the impact of inappropriate speed on the lives of Londoners. The government’s road safety strategy states that speed is a major contributory factor in one third of all road traffic collisions. Reducing vehicle speeds and enforcing speed limits is critical to road safety in Britain. We want to see London in the forefront of speed reduction and speed limit enforcement and we trust that the Mayor and Transport for London will support this aim.

The recent Health Select Committee report on obesity has emphasised the contribution that increased cycling can make to improving the nation’s health. In central London cycling has increased by more than a 100% in the past decade spurred by the provision of cycle maps, cycle training and the introduction of congestion charging. We know that many more people would like to cycle for reasons of health, convenience and enjoyment. To give them a real choice of transport we need to make our roads more cycle-friendly. We hope that any upcoming safety reviews will lead to reduced motor vehicle speeds and better conditions for cyclists.